With the door left open several times Monday, Rutgers head coach Kyle Flood didn’t flinch in saying an open quarterback competition will take place this spring, even with a senior with 28 career starts.

For the second time in three seasons, Gary Nova will have to beat out another quarterback, one without any career appearances.

“I will be more than comfortable playing the quarterback that does the best job protecting the football, making the right decisions we coach them to make and locating the football the best he can,” Flood said. “Experience is great as long as you’re improving, but ultimately right now at that position we need to find the quarterback on our roster that can do those three things better than the other quarterbacks.”

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The latter sentence appears most troubling for Nova.

The senior-to-be sat the final three games this season after completing less than 55 percent of his passes, with a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 9-to-7. He has 39 interceptions in 33 career appearances and regressed late in the season under another offensive coordinator.

“I have no issues with the way Gary handled being the second-team quarterback,” Flood said. “I thought he prepared well for the games. What I expect from him going forward is what I expect everybody at that position to do.”

He included the team’s three other scholarship quarterbacks — Mike Bimonte, Blake Rankin and Chris Laviano — as part of the competition. Outside of Nova, none has taken a career snap.

Offensive coordinator Ron Prince said during Pinstripe Bowl week that zone-read principles — integrated during the final month of the season — will remain in 2014. It requires on a mobile quarterback able to make quick decisions in space.

Prince introduced the zone read early this season, but a concussion and fumble by Nova quieted it until Chas Dodd took over at quarterback. It is only a percentage of Rutgers’ offense.

“We’ve got a lot of quarterbacks on our roster right now,” Flood said. “Every one of them is going to be given more than enough snaps this spring so we can figure out who the starting quarterback is going to be.”

Flood’s first trial, in training camp in 2012, featured Dodd and Nova. Nova won, earning in Flood’s mind an indisputed title as starter. The idea never materialized.

Poor play followed Nova into the team’s Russell Athletic Bowl in 2012, and Flood turned to Dodd late this season.

Flood often cites how a team’s identity changes with its roster, but it’s unlikely even he expected how different Rutgers’ state of affairs would be in 2013.

A year after falling one game short of a BCS berth, Flood spent as much time stoking public relations fires as repairing a damaged defense. Injuries and transfers plagued his depth chart. Calls for his job increased.

Flood will return for Rutgers’ first season in the Big Ten, but an underwhelming follow-up to 2012 cost him three assistants.

Another struggle could mean he’s next. Athletic Director Julie Hermann endorsed Flood after the team’s season finale, but she will likely want her legacy judged by her own hires. Eddie Jordan, Rutgers’ head men’s basketball coach, was hired nearly a month before Hermann arrived.

Flood said earlier he appreciated Hermann’s support but didn’t expect her to speak publicly.

“I think every year is a challenge,” Flood said Monday. “The job of being a college football coach is a cumbersome job in terms of the number of hours you spend doing it. It’s not something you could do if you only loved it when you were undefeated. The ups and downs of the season are all part of the job. I embrace the challenges of all those things.”

A second full offseason should help. His offensive coordinator is in place for the first time since 2010. Barring another early entree into the NFL Draft or transfer, 28 players with starts this season return. It remains to be seen what that means in the Big Ten.

About the Author

Tyler Barto is a 2013 Rutgers graduate and a Westampton, N.J., native. Reach the author at tbarto@trentonian.com
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